AS a result of a suggestion at the Village News AGM, our April edition sported a glossy cover even though it was printed in black and white. Until now glossy covers have been used only for the editions with full-colour covers, and this was a trial to see how it looked on the black and white editions. Continue reading More gloss for Village News…

HERTS County Council has given notice of a road closure order affecting Tring Road, Wilstone, so that resurfacing work can be carried out. The work will take one week, and will be carried out at some time between 13th April and 1st October. The order covers the section of Tring Road, Wilstone, from its junction with the B489 (Lower Icknield Way) to the junction with Sandbrook Lane. All or parts of this section will be closed at times during the week, and diversions via Wingrave Road will be signposted. The project engineer at Hertfordshire Highways is Peter Watson, telephone 01707 356200.

THE ‘Tring Together’ organisation has devised two weeks of activities and events between 2nd May and 16th May. Saturday 2nd May will feature events in Tring and special offers in selected shops and restaurants. There are three guided walks on Sunday 3rd May: Historic Tring, 2pm from the Natural History Museum; Butterfly and Wildflower walk, 2pm from the Natural History Museum; Tring by the Water, 10.30am fromWilstone war memorial (led byWilstone resident Jo Woodbridge.) Tring Park Mansion, former home of the Rothschild family, is hosting an open morning on Monday 4th May from 11am – 1pm. A rare opportunity to see the house and grounds, which is now used by Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. Look for leaflets which have the full programme, or see their website: www.tringtogether.org.uk.

A LOCAL pensioner foiled an attempt by two men to con their way into her home by standing firm and insisting on seeing identification. At this unexpected response they turned and ran off, but villagers should be aware that this old trick is still being tried on elderly residents.

YOUNGSTERS camping out in the millennium copse at Wilstone recreation ground have caused damage to one of the new picnic tables by lighting disposable barbeques on the seat and table. Three of the group were still around when the Village Warden spotted the damage on his rounds, and when approached by the Warden they owned up. The picnic table is repairable, and as the three have agreed to pay for the damage, the Parish Council have decided to regard the incident as accidental.

THE BMX track at Long Marston recreation ground has been deliberately damaged, councillors heard at the April Parish Council meeting. Three of the jump approaches have been deliberately dug out with a spade, presumably to make them steeper. The track was provided by the Parish Council with help from a group of local youngsters and it has only recently begun to blend in with its surroundings with grass now established on the earth mounds. The track has to meet safety standards, and repairs will now have to be carried out to keep it within standards. Councillors were disappointed at this deliberate misuse.

INITIALLY reported as UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) it soon became clear that the two Aliens wandering around the village were a pair of peacocks.

Sightings were reported all over the village from Tring Road, Chapel Fields, Chapel End Lane and The Mill but no doubt their wandering took them all further afield. They were reported to the RSPB who were not interested as they stated that there are so many of them wandering around the country! Their origins are not know nor are their present whereabouts but they are still somewhere locally as their callings can be heard in the middle of the night! Nice to look at but Oh! what a nuisance.